Florida Senate passes $830 million business-tax break

TALLAHASSEE — Florida businesses would save $830 million in state taxes during the next two and one-half years under an amendment tacked on to a piece of unemployment-compensation legislation Thursday and passed by the Legislature.

A Senate amendment, by Fort Lauderdale Republican Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, would allow businesses to use a lower wage base when calculating their unemployment-compensation taxes, used to pay benefits to laid-off workers.

It would also extend, from three years to five years, the amount of time businesses have to replenish the state's unemployment-benefits fund, which was drained during the recession and has yet to recover amid stubbornly high unemployment. The state has been borrowing money from the federal government to continue paying benefits to unemployed workers.

The move is expected to reduce the minimum tax rate for businesses next year from $171.70 per employee to $121.60 per employee. That's a nearly 30 percent reduction — but still nearly 69 percent higher than this year's minimum rate of $72.10 per employee.

The changes are expected to save businesses $197.3 million this year, an additional $352.1 million next year and $278.9 million in the third year.

The Senate inserted the language into HB 7027, which was then approved by a 39-1 vote. Only Sen. Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa Democrat, opposed it.

The bill was then passed by the Florida House, 108-11, and sent to Gov. Rick Scott. Getting the Legislature to cut unemployment taxes was a huge priority of the business lobby this session — as it has been for the past few sessions.